


Vertigo: An MGiT Tale

by Rhunae



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, I have no idea, I'll change the tags as I go, I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with this, Maybe Some Plot, Mutual Pining, POV Third Person, Slow Burn, Some pining, Will there be smut?, not sure how smutty it will be in the beginning, sex and trigger warnings will be posted in the top notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-29 00:08:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17797319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhunae/pseuds/Rhunae
Summary: A simple bookkeeper finds herself in the world of Thedas.





	1. 1.1. First stop: Oz.

**Author's Note:**

> Edit:6/25/2019: I'm still writing, but I'm writing till the end before I start posting again. I hope you don't mind the wait.
> 
>  
> 
> I'm a big dork, you've been warned. 
> 
> Though this is heavily based on Me (based on a meme I filled out recently that gave me Ideas[tm]), there are a number of differences that deviate, including mine and my pet's names. I did not name my pets after Dragon Age characters (though there is nothing wrong with that!). Sten = Xochi; Morrigan = Morgan; Alistair = Smokey; Oghren = Quinn  
> Also include the vertigo in the list of differences.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 1872

**1.1. First stop: Oz.**

 

Walking around the shop, all sorts of overpriced nick knacks lined the shelves. It was the third antique shop they had wandered into and still hadn’t found what they were seeking. They were shopping for items for their tiny home, trying to find multi-functional items in an antique shop. They’d also stopped at a couple different thrift stores, and had been browsing CraigsList and Ebay ads.

“I think this one is a bust,” her husband replied, glancing down one of the isles, the fluorescent light above flickered. The one beside it remained dark, burnt out.

Noticing a box of rocks, most of them unpolished and crusted in dirt, she picked up several, but one caught her attention, something about the light reflecting off an edge. Depositing the other rocks back in the box, she picked up the one that caught her attention. Dirty, she brushed some of it off with her thumb when a shiver ran up her spine. She felt the familiar vertigo slide through her mind and she grabbed the edge of the shelf.

“Siofra, are you ok?” He asked, glancing at her with concern, his hand light on her arm.

“Yeah, just a bit of vertigo.”

“Let’s go try out the little diner down the street. You’ll feel better once you eat.”

“Good idea.” It looked like rust on her thumb, but something about it tugged at her inner senses. The marking on the box read in clear handwriting, [Rocks - $1]. “I’m buying this.”

“Why do you need that, babe?”

“I dunno. It looks neat.”

“It’s a rock. We’re trying to declutter the bus, not add to it.”

“Marie Kondo says if it brings you joy, to keep it.”

Rolling his eyes, Martin replied, “You haven’t even bought it yet.”

Pointing to the price tag, “See? Only a dollar.”

Sighing, “Fine, but I hope you know where you’re keeping it.”

“With the bells.”

“We’re keeping the bells?”

“Of course, silly. They bring me joy,” she grinned at him, he shook his head and sighed.

Taking the rock to the counter, she dug into her purse.

“You got it?” he asked, pulling out his wallet.

“Yeah, I should have enough change…” a couple dimes, several nickels, five pennies, and two quarters later, she slapped them down on the counter. The bored high school student scooped them out and handed her a barely legible receipt, the blue ink faded.

Glancing at him, he held a dollar bill in his hand, twirling it between two fingers. “Just making sure.” He grinned and stuffed the dollar back in his billfold.

 

* * *

 

Martin leaned back and yawned, “I’m going to bed.” He reached the mouse and started logging out of his game, then the computer.

“Ok, sweety,” pausing her game, Siofra turned in her chair. The small bedroom hosted matching desks, chairs, and computers. Rising, she offered him a hug and kiss. She still wasn’t sure where they were going to set up their computer equipment in the bus, but they still had time.

“Don’t stay up so late.”

“I wont. Just finishing up this quest.”

With Martin off to bed, Siofra left the computer room for the kitchen for something to drink, but noticed the dishes from dinner still in the sink. Pulling on the bright yellow gloves, she started rinsing them off, and sticking them in the dishwasher; finishing off with wiping down the counters, she turned on the dishwasher, and tugged the yellow gloves off to hang them to dry.

Thinking about the strange rock she bought earlier, she dug that out of the plastic bag, tossing bag and receipt into the recycle bin, and took the rock back to the kitchen sink to begin rinsing off the dirt and grime. Clumps of dirt fell away with the water. A moment of panic set in and she grabbed the pasta strainer so the rock wouldn’t dissolve into mud and water swirling down the drain. More chunks fell away and clattered into the strainer until all she had left was… a ring? A single blue gem crowned the yellow gold band, the gem having a natural star shape in its center.

“That’s…”

Rubbing her thumb over the blue gem, a wave of vertigo lapped across her senses. Gripping the kitchen counter, she waited until the vertigo passed. Turning off the water, she took her antique store prize back to the computer room. Sitting down, she glanced at her still paused game, then back to the ring. Pulling up the web browser, she typed in ‘star sapphire’ in the search field and hit enter.

Scrolling through the results, she compared the ring in hand with the various pictures. Leaning back in her leather back chair, she grunted.

“Huh.”

How did a ring like this get covered in so much dirt, mistaken for a rock, a semi precious stone no different than a tourmaline? By itself, this size would run into the hundreds, but on a gold band… She turned the ring over and looked at the inner band to check for any identifying marks, but found none.

It was probably costume jewelry, she decided, and probably worth the dollar she spent. Setting the ring on her desk, she logged out of the game, then the computer. She was going to bed after all.

 

* * *

 

Shuffling around the kitchen in her thick isotope black slippers, both dogs bounced around her, “Yes, yes, Alistair, outside,” her voice a little higher as she spoke to the shepherd, “Stop stepping on my feet, Oghren,” she quietly admonished the rat terrier, “Out of the way, little dude, lemme get to the door,” returning to the sing-song tone, “Yes, yes, I know, you’re both very excited. So excited. Yes, you are. I know you are,” stepping carefully to avoid being bulldozed by the pair of them on her way to the back door to let them out.

Filling their bowls near the back door, they would eat when she let them back in. Both cats came out of nowhere and walked figure eights around her ankles, Morgan meowling loudly until she poured cat kibble into their shared bowl on one of the side counters. They would nibble at it the rest of the day. Alistair’s deep bark informed her they wanted back in.

The animals cared for, she returned to the kitchen to stare blearily at the coffee pot, the last of the drip-drip of the elixir of life into the glass pot. In another part of the house, the shower water shut off. Opening a cupboard, she pulled out her pink and purple striped Cheshire cat mug and his black ‘Architects do it better’ mug, pouring coffee in each. Two spoons of sugar in his mug, and two scoops of cocoa mix and a bit of milk into the Cheshire cat mug. Carrying both mugs, Siofra shuffled to the dining room table and sat down, staring blankly at the pale yellow wall as she sipped her mocha coffee.

She was half way through her cup when Martin dropped into the chair opposite her, “I’m running late.” He stared at the mug, “Sugar?” He was wearing a maroon polo shirt and dark grey slacks, his hair was still wet from the shower, but combed back.

“I know,” she blearily glanced up at the clock, blinking a couple times before she could focus on the numbers, “There’s sugar. Did you want me to make you something?”

“No, I’ll grab something on the way in,” he took a sip, “It’s not hot anymore,” shrugged, and gulped half it down his throat.

“You took forever to get dressed. You look nice.”

Martin grunted, but she did notice the small smile. To change the subject he glanced in her mug, “Didn’t the doctor tell you no more coffee?”

Wincing, she pulled the mug close to her, “Did he? I seem to have forgotten that part…”

Frowning, “Siofra— “ He sighed, glanced at the clock on the wall, “I have to go.” He rose, stepped around the table and gave her a quick peck on the lips, “Love you. No more coffee,” then he was grabbing his coat and keys, and running out the door.

“Love you, too!” She called after him.

Taking both mugs back into the kitchen, she rinsed out his and refilled hers, taking hers into the computer room and started up the PC. She glanced at the ring, but settled into her morning routine; reading emails from her clients, pulling up a file manager, processing the paperwork, answering phone calls. After several hours of working on a client’s paperwork, she picked up the mug to the taste of cold, stale coffee.

“Bleh.” She told the black cat lounging on the chair beside hers, Sten peaked at her with one yellow eye, the tip of his tail twitching.

“It’s time for a break anyway,” she told the cat, stretching her arms over her head; he stretched out his front paws, his claws pricking the faux leather of the chair, then hopped down.

Picking up the ring, Siofra took it into the kitchen with her, set it down beside her mug, then went to start another pot of coffee.

Sten hopped up on the side counter for a quick nibble from the food dish. A smaller, fluffier cat followed into the kitchen and meowed loudly.

“Morning, Morgy,” Siofra picked up the smaller cat, received a head butt, before the small cat jumped back down, only to hop up on the counter, to nudge Sten out of the way of the food bowl.

While waiting for the coffee to brew, she picked up the ring and leaned against the counter, allowing the midmorning light to reflect off the blue. While another wave of vertigo passed through her, she braced herself against the counter.

It was why she worked from home now; the vertigo had become so bad, that she couldn’t risk driving anymore. Some days they were just a minor wave of unsteadiness that passed without comment. Other days, on the really bad days, they left her nauseous and heaving on the ground in a fetal position. The doctors weren’t sure what was causing the vertigo. It could be anything, but they prescribed the precaution to limited caffeine and chocolate.

_The hell, you say._

The vertigo was short this morning, just enough to remind her it was still there. Twirling the ring in hand, she slid it on her right hand ring finger. The room spun out, the floor gave way to space, Siofra fell to her knees, gripping her head between her hands.

“Fuck! Fuckfuckfuckityfuck!”

 

* * *

 

Fluttering lashes, trying to recover her senses, Siofra stirred. When her gaze landed on the ground, something seemed off. What should have been hardwood floor badly in need of a good wax, was hard volcanic black rock. Careful to move her head, these violent vertigo flashes always left her feeling wobbly afterwards.

Lifting her gaze, she blinked at the green sky, the strangely twisting volcanic columns in mid air, the black debris that floated on the air, the large, thorny brambles lining the path, the dampness on rock but no discernible water coming from anywhere.

Frowning, she whispered under her breath, ”I’m not in Kansas anymore, Toto…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any prompts to throw at me, I'll try to include those as I write. If you have any tropes, I'll consider those as well. You can leave those in the comments, or contact me on Tumblr (rhunae.tumblr.com) or Twitter (@rhuebell) or DAME.Life (Rhue).
> 
> I'm still unsure of a couple things:  
> 1\. Should she use her name, Siofra, or her (my) usual online moniker, Rhunae/Rhue?  
> 2\. Should this be in the same world state as Be Careful What you Wish For?  
> 3\. Regardless of world state, should I bring Marius back as Riordan's little brother?  
> 4\. Halp! What do I title this as? /sob


	2. 1.2. Fadetastic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helpful spirits helping Siofra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 2130

**1.2. Fadetastic**

 

“This is some fucked up dream,” Pushing herself off the ground, Siofra brushed her hands off on her pajama bottoms, “A vertigo dream. New one. I’ll have to tell Doctor Rick about this one.”

Doctor V. A. Rick was an ENT doctor who was helping her with the vertigo. Friendly, funny, and generally did not come off creepy, despite his Magnum PI-vibe, complete with Hawaiian print collared shirts with the buttons starting part way to reveal his hairy chest. Unlike Tom Selleck, he could only manage scruffy facial hair. Dr Rick had several offices he worked out of, and you knew which one he was at if his red Ferrari 488 Rosso Corsa, he affectionately called Bianca, was in the parking lot. She asked him once if he ever played Dragon Age, but he didn’t know what she was talking about.

“Tell who about what?” A small voice asked.

Turning around, Siofra looked around, but didn’t see where the voice was coming from.

“Down here.”

Dropping her gaze down, the only thing she saw was a mouse, turning, she didn’t see anything else. “Did— Did you say something?”

“Yes, never talk to a mouse before?”

A bark of nervous laughter, “No, this one is new.” Then she thought about it another moment, “But this is a dream…”

“I could be a bear instead.”

“Believe me, bears a-plenty show up in my dreams,” Siofra started, “Usually trying to gnaw on my leg, especially after reading about a girl talking to her mother on the phone while a bear actively ate her leg. Nevermind…” she pointed at the mouse, “You. Stay a mouse.”

“Uhm, not sure what all of that meant, but I have no interest in eating your leg. I could be a human instead.” It shifted, growing, stretching, fur shivering, wiggling, smoothing out, changing until the small mouse rose to that of a tall, young man, no more than twenty, with sandy brown hair and green eyes, wearing red and brown mage robes. “Is this better? You can call me,… Mouse.”

The young man looked oddly familiar, even if the air wavered and made everything just slightly out of focus. Then it hit her. “Shit. This is a Dragon Age dream.” Siofra sighed, “Yeah, sure, we’re in the Fade, gotta talk to a Valiant, or Valor, spirit of Valor, for the staff, and the sloth demon to teach you how to be a bear, come back here and fight a rage demon, and then tempted by Pride, which is… you.”

“I got better,” he interjected.

Staring at him, “That’s from— nevermind.” Sighing, she rubbed her temples, “Gah, it’s been so long since I played that, If I even remember correctly. So how do we do this? I don’t have magic.”

“Don’t you, Child of Gaea?” He turned and walked down the path, then paused to look behind him, “Are you coming?” He resumed walking away.

Pinching herself, she urged herself to wake up instead, but nothing happened. Sighing in resignation, she followed after him.

 

* * *

 

Following, careful of the thorny brambles lining the path, Siofra tried to recall what happened in the first game of the fade. It had been awhile, she remembered a few things but the details were sketchy. For one, in the game he followed her. Being called Child of Gaea was different, too. Gaea was the Greek word for Earth, a Greek goddess. Which was definitely not Dragon Age. Glancing off in the distance of green space, an island floated, just like she remembered from the first game, the Black City.

“Another spirit is this way,” Mouse said, glancing over his shoulder.

Siofra was expecting a spirit clad in templar armor, but instead she found a spirit sitting in a stuffed, padded chair reading a book, the spirit appeared unremarkable other than a thick, black hair woven into a long braid draped over one shoulder. A human female in appearance, like Mouse looked male, “I’m confused. Wasn’t the next spirit supposed to be Valor.”

The spirit glanced up from her book and smiled, “Spirit of Wisdom, actually. What have you brought me, Mouse?”

“A Child of Gaea.”

“Really?” Closing the book, she set it on the table beside her and stood, “We’ve not had a Child of Gaea here in a long time. Are you lost? You must be.”

“I just need to wake up.” Siofra replied, taking a step back, glancing between Mouse and Wisdom, “Who do I need to fight to leave here.”

Shaking her head, Wisdom replied, “There will be no fighting. But you really should gather some things before you go.”

“I don’t understand, why do I need to gather anything, if I’m just trying to wake up.”

Stopping before Siofra, Wisdom clasped her hands in front of her, patiently asking, “Have you tried waking up?”

Pinching herself again, and concentrating on waking up, which normally would work… was not working. “Why can’t I wake up?”

“I was afraid of this. If you wish to return, Child of Gaea, then you need to pass through one of the mirrors. Then find it’s match on the other side. Which isn’t as simple as it sounds. Unfortunately.”

“What happens if I can’t find the other mirror,” Siofra asked, trepidation tying her belly into a knot.

The Spirit looked thoughtful, glanced at Mouse, then back to Siofra, “I don’t know.”

“Then are you coming with me? To help me find the other mirror.”

“I’m afraid we cannot go with you,” Wisdom replied sadly, “We are unable to pass through the mirrors. But!” She returned to her chair, the table, and the assortment of bookshelves Siofra hadn’t noticed before. Poking between books, behind books, atop high shelves, and low shelves, eventually she found what she was looking for.

Siofra and Mouse both wandered closer to watch Wisdom, curious to what she was looking for.

“First,” Wisdom said, holding up a book that looked suspiciously familiar to Siofra, “You need a book.” She handed that to Siofra with reverent care.

Flipping it front to back, it was a leather and cloth cover, the brown leather took up the back side, whereas the cloth side was a blue background with white flowers, “This is my kindle.” Pressing the ON button, it immediately opened to where she left off while reading The Calling. It was fully charged.

“Right. You can fit an entire library of of books in that," her voice tinged in awe. "I added some books you need, and removed the ones you don’t.” Wisdom smiled broadly.

“How? It needs electricity to charge the battery.”

“Well,” Wisdom fluttered her fingers at Siofra, “Use electricity to charge it. You’re a mage.”

Siofra stared dumbfounded, “I—I don’t think that’s how that works.”

Wisdom returned to the bookcase and found a small box, “Ahh, yes, here it is.” She handed Siofra another leather encased item.

Accepting it, Siofra sighed, “This is my cell phone. Last I checked, Thedas doesn’t have cell towers.”

“I don’t know what you just said,” she hesitated, painfully honest, “It’s for me to send you messages. You asked for help, yes?” She smiled, her eyes earnest and helpful, “Depending on which mirror you pass, I will look through my books to find it’s match, or at least, help you find it. I will send you letters through your black… raven… box… thing…”

“Cell phone.”

“Uh… yes, of course.”

“You’re going to text me.”

There was a moment of confusion in her eyes, “Write letters, yes.”

“This also requires a charged battery,” Siofra held up the cell phone and tapped it with a finger.

Wisdom wiggled her fingers at her in answer. “Mouse will inform me which mirror you passed through. I will look for its pair in my studies. There is another spirit waiting for you.” She smiled again, hopeful, helpful, her fingers shooing her away. Returning to her chair, she curled back into the chair with her book.

Mouse smiled, “Follow me, it’s this way.”

 

* * *

 

Following Mouse, they rounded another bend and down the hill, and back up the hill, and around another corner,… Siofra could have sworn the map was the same as the one in the first game, but there was nothing to fight. No wisps. No wolves. And coming upon where Sloth should be, there was a different spirit. It wore rags and was shuffling through a pile of garbage.

“Which one is this?”

Mouse glanced over at Siofra, “Charity.”

“Ahh.”

The spirit finally glanced over at the pair, holding up a chipped potted plant and an Orlesian theatre flier. “Oh, hello!” They dropped the flier, stood up and cradled the potted plant like they might hold an infant. “Who do you have with you, Mouse?”

“A Child of Gaea.”

“Oh. Oh dear. We’ve not had one of those in a long time.” The Spirit seemed far more shy and unsure.

Confused, Siofra scratched her chin, “The games have only been out… a decade. Probably? Less?”

Charity scratched its head, “Oh, well. Thedas and Gaea work differently, I guess.”

Mouse spoke up, “Anyway, she is going through the mirror…”

“Oh!” Charity’s eyes grew wide, “Then you will need supplies!” It stumbled back into the pile of garbage and started tossing items over its shoulder, “I just saw it.” It tossed a metal plate over their shoulder, Siofra and Mouse dodged out of the way, “It was just here.” A chipped bowl, several spoons, and a pair of boots that actually looked like they might fit, “Ah-ha!”

Siofra and Mouse glanced at one another.

Charity scuttled over with a bag, “Here, this is for you.” Once Siofra accepted it, the spirit dived back into the debris. 

Turning to Mouse, Siofra asked, “How is any of this going to make it through the mirror? If you can’t pass through it, how is any of this or me going to?”

He bumped his shoulder against hers, “You are here in the flesh.”

“No, I’m not. This is the Fade, that’s impossible.”

“Oh yes.” Mouse glanced at the ring.

Siofra covered the star sapphire with one hand, “This is just some bauble I found. Costume jewelry. This is just a dream. But that doesn’t explain the rest of this.”

Mouse shrugged, “It is what it is.”

Rolling her eyes, Siofra opened her mouth to remark—

“Oh, here you go, Child of Gaea!” Charity had found more items and scuttled closer trying to hand them to her. The first was a metal disk with hinges that Siofra would figure out later, giving it only a cursory glance before dumping it into the bag. The second was a wooden box that looked eerily like the one she had at home which held her father’s ashes. However, opening the box lid, it held flint, firesteel, and tinder. She had no idea how she would start fires with this; Goddess knew how the hell she was going to figure it out.

Charity handed Siofra a small basket with a lid, “This has pemmican.”

“A what?”

“Uh,” the spirit looked at the basket and flailed its arms a bit trying to come up with an explanation, “Its with the dried meat, extra cronch, and then spices, like salt? And the meat fat...tenderized. No. Tallowed. Mixed. Om Noms. Until you can find food.” It nodded its head emphatically, its eyes wide and grinning helpfully.

“I’m not sure I understood that,” Siofra whispered to Mouse.

“Food rations, made of meat,” he whispered back.

“Ahh.”

The spirit was back in the pile, digging down into the pile until all they saw were it’s legs flailing from the top of the heap.

“Are they… ok?”

The spirit yelled something, but the sound was muffled. Once it wiggled out of the jumbled collection of junk, it exclaimed, “Found it!” Then shoved a leather bag in Siofra’s hands, “For your water. Fill it at the well. Mouse will show you.” Its attention wavered briefly, thoughtful, “Oh. Yes. And here.” From across its shoulders it handed her rolled up blankets. No, it was more durable than that; a thick canvas shell, while the interior was soft, like sheep’s wool. At least what she could see from her cursory glance.

“A bedroll?” Siofra asked, accepting it, and started to wonder if the recent forays into a d&d campaign based on Critical Role seeped into this dream, because this reminded her of the equipment list in the book.

“And this!” The spirit handed Siofra robes, “Because you can’t wear that.”

Siofra glanced down at her oversized black Nine Inch Nails t-shirt, the red and blue plaid pajama pants with smaller stripes of yellow and green and white, with thick, fluffy black isotope slippers peaking out from under the belled bottoms. “Yeah, not exactly Thedas fashion.”


	3. 1.3. Eluvian Nights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 1140

**1.3. Eluvian Nights**

 

Staring at the circle of mirrors, Eluvians, she corrected herself, there were thirteen circling the well. All remained dark, but three completely shattered, glass shards at the base. This whole time when the spirits were talking about mirrors, they were referring to these Eluvians. She wanted to kick herself for not figuring it out sooner.

The well was much smaller than the Well of Sorrows. It was similar to the one at the elvhen ruins in the Brecillian Forest. The activation steps were different. At least, she thought they were different. Pick up the jug, fetch water from the well, take the jug back to the altar, pray, — though she had no idea who she was praying to…  Mythal? Solas? One of the other Creator gods? — but instead of taking a sip, she poured the water into the leather skin until it was full. Only then, according to the rock plaque, could she take a sip. The water was amazing. It tasted like spring water straight from the source, crisp with a hint of minerals.

Returning to the well, she dumped the rest of the water back in, then returned the jug under the alter.

“That’s it?” She turned to look over at Mouse.

He was sitting on the ground, his legs crossed under him watching, “Do you feel any different?”

“Am I supposed to?”

Mouse shrugged.

Siofra glanced at each of the eluvians, “Why are they still dark?”

“Go up to one and see if it turns on?” Mouse offered past a yawn.

“No, all the eluvians have a key,” Siofra approached the closest one, “or a catch phrase, or a word. Something that turns them on.” Running her fingers over the glass, she saw her own reflection, a human in mage robes, her tangled, long hair framing her face. Otherwise, the surface remained dark.

Stepping past another, one of the broken eluvians, she passed it and approached the third. Her face reflecting back at her, but there was something different about it. Something off. Observing her reflection with a critical eye, she finally noticed the point of her ears sticking out of her hair.

Frowning, she returned to the first eluvian and pushed her hair out of the way. Round ears. She returned to the other, pointed ears. She went to another eluvian, ram’s horns, her reflection much taller than her, but the eyes remained the same, the quirk of her lip as she started to understand the nature of the reflections.

But she still didn’t know the key to opening them.

Walking around to each of the eluvians, Siofra whispered “Fen’Harel Enansal” and “Mythal Enansal” to each mirrored surface with no changes. Scratching her head, she looked over the well, the jug, the alter, to see if there was anything that would give her a clue of what to try. She tried other variations, such as “Open sesame,” “Abracadabra,” but of course neither worked.

Pulling the mage robes over her head, they were stifling over her pajamas. _Gods, how could people wear these? It was so hot!_ Dropping them atop of her pack, she fanned herself before returning to the task at hand.

“Fen’Harel rules, Andruil drools.”

Nothing. Shrugging, it was worth a try.

Pacing around the circular area, passing her human reflections, elven reflections, qunari reflection, and dwarven reflection, Siofra tried to think of something else. Briala used a phrase for the whole network. Obviously phrases weren’t working. Morrigan used magic on her eluvian, but she didn’t know any magic that would activate these. What did Imshael give to Briala? A magic item? A keystone. What was it? A rock with a rune etched into it? Damn, why didn’t she pay more attention to that?

Sitting down beside Mouse, he was laying on his side, his arm tucked under his head and a trail of saliva on his arm. “Any suggestions?”

“Wha! Huh!” Startled awake, Mouse blinked rapidly, “Did you say something?”

“Do spirits really sleep? What would they dream about? In the world of dreams?”

“I wasn’t sleeping. I don’t sleep.” Wiping the drool from his lips, he sat back up.

“Right. Anyway, they don’t work.” Siofra glanced at him, then back to the eluvians, “What do you suggest?”

“Have you tried your ring?” Mouse pointed to the star sapphire ring.

“I—” Siofra stared at the ring. “No, I haven’t.” Was it really a keystone? A rune etched into stone? So if it wasn’t a star sapphire, was this the sun rune? Elgar’nan? “Elgar’nan Enansal,” she called out.

Nothing happened.

Sighing, she rubbed the surface of the stone with her thumb when it began to glow brightly. And brighter still, forcing her to cover her eyes. Casting a bright, blue light across the clearing, the blue rays touched each of the eluvians until each glowed individually on their own. Except those with broken surfaces; they remained dark. The sapphire winked out.

“Oh.” Standing up, Siofra edged closer to the first eluvian, “I don’t even know which one to go through. What’s the difference?”

Standing beside her, Mouse shrugged, “Well, if you have magic…”

“Yes, I’d like to use magic.”

Six eluvians winked out, leaving only three lit.

“Well, that certainly makes things easier. I don’t want to be in the circle.”

Another eluvian winked out.

“An elf.” As soon as she said it, Siofra knew she would regret it, especially an elf in Thedas.

Only one eluvian remained shimmering with blue light.

“I guess that’s the one you go through.”

“I guess so.” Siofra went back to her pack, pulled the robes over her head and wiggled into them, she was chunkier than whoever wore them before. Nor did she have any interest in undressing in front of Mouse, spirit or not, just to remove a layer so the robes fit better.

Picking up the pack, she pulled it over her back and felt the weight tug on her shoulders. “Oof.” This was like that time she and Martin went backpacking in South America. A week’s worth of clothes for different situations, a month’s worth of hygiene items, flip flops, snorkel and mask, laptop, and camera. At least the items she could tick off several years after the trip. It felt kind of like that, stepping out into the unknown, but now she didn’t have her other half, her partner in crime, the one she could lean on when she tired, and snuggle up with at the end of the day.

But this was a dream, and when she woke, he would be there.

“Well, bye Mouse. Wish me luck.”

“Luck.”

“Good enough.” Stepping through the eluvian, she felt the cool energy pass over her, like dunking her body through a cold pool of water, coming out dry on the other side. She stumbled on the other side, falling to her knees, and stirring up ages of dust into her face. Coughing, she waved the dust away. The blue glow of the eluvian winked out, but she could still make out the old ruins in the yellow glow of torchlight.

“Well, well. What have we here?”


End file.
